To measure their performance in a quantifiable manner, athletes will often measure various performance characteristics corresponding to their activities. For example, a runner may measure a total distance traveled during a run, a total elapsed time required to run a distance, the elapsed time required to run a segment of the distance, and/or the average time required to run equal segments of the distance. Likewise, cyclists, ice skaters, sailors, hikers, swimmers, skiers, and other athletes may desire to measure the total distance traveled, a total elapsed time required to travel a distance, the elapsed time required to run a segment of the distance, and/or the average time required to run equal segments of the distance.
In addition to (or instead of) measuring temporal and positional information, some athletes will measure their biometric information. For example, during an activity, an athlete may employ a heart-rate monitor to monitor his or her heart rate, a thermostat to measure the athlete's body temperature, a blood pressure monitor to measure the athlete's blood pressure, a volumetric expansion monitor to monitor the expansion of the athlete's lungs while performing an activity, an oxygen content meter to measure the amount of oxygen in the athlete's bloodstream (e.g., by measuring the amount of oxygen in the athlete's exhaled breath), or even more sophisticated biometric monitoring device, such as an ECG (electrocardiogram) monitor. The athlete can then use this biometric information to analyze his or her athletic performance.
Many athletes also prefer to use some type of audible playback device during an athletic activity. For example, many athletes will listen to music or other audible content transmitted over radio waves, decoded from an electronically or magnetically stored file (such as an MP3, AAC or WAV files), or decoded from a file stored on an optical medium (such as a compact disc (CD)) during an athletic activity. Some athletes find that the audible content distracts the athlete from the monotony of an athletic activity, while other athletes believe that audible content with rhythm can be used to help the athlete maintain a desired pace. Still other athletes alternately or additionally choose to carry a wireless telephone during their activities, in case they need to be contacted with an important message.
While an athlete may monitor positional, temporal, and/or biometric information during an athletic activity, the athlete will not typically monitor this information continuously. Instead, the athlete will only periodically monitor this information. Accordingly, many athletes use a performance monitoring device in conjunction with an audible content playback device. For example, a runner may listen to an MP3 or WAV file player while wearing a watch wirelessly linked to a pedometer on the runner's foot. In this way, the runner can listen to desired audible content, such as music or a book or magazine article read aloud, while periodically monitoring his or her speed and distance.
While such use of multiple devices does allow an athlete to both enjoy the playback of audible content and monitor performance data, the use of multiple devices may be inconvenient and awkward for the athlete. For example, if an athlete desires to listen to music, receive calls through a wireless telephone, and check performance information, the athlete must physically carry at least three different pieces of equipments. Further, if an athlete is using an MP3 player and receives a call on a wireless telephone, the athlete must remove the headphones for the MP3 player, and break stride by moving the wireless telephone to the athlete's ear. Likewise, if the athlete desires to view performance data, the athlete typically must break stride to move the monitoring device's user interface (e.g., a display on a watch) to a viewable position. Still further, an athlete may find it difficult to concentrate on understanding the performance data while still listening to the audible content.